Improvement in indicator for main-spring- of watches



J. GARDNER, Jr.

INDICATOR FOR MAIN SPRING 0P WATOHES.

Patented Nov. 23, 1869.]

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JOSEPH GARDNER, JR., or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent N 97,186, dated November 28, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN INDICATOR FOR MAIN-SPRING 01- WATCHES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame .To all to whom these presents shall come:

Be'it known that I, JOSEPH Gsnoxsn, Jr., of Boston, in the county ofSuffolk, and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have made an invention of anew and useful Improvementin W'atches; and do hereby declaretliefollowing to, be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, duereference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of thisspecification, and in which- Figure 1 is a face or dial-view of a watch,containing my invention Figure 2 being a like view of its face-plate,and

Figure 3, a vertical section of its wimling-arhor, barrel, and adjuncts.

The invention herein described, and comprising the subject-matter ofthese Letters Patent, relates to means whereby persons may assurethemsclves instantly whethertheirwatches be wound up or the contrary, orin what degree of tension, between each extreme, the spring may be atthe time of observation.

My invention has reference to a class of watchmovements containing agoing-barrel, so called, in which the arbor is stationary, while thebarrel-and main gear revolve about it, and consists 'in' providing. suchbarrel and arbor with an index-pointer and scale, and anactuating-medianism, so arrangcd, that upon winding up or contraction ofthe main-sn'ing of the watch, the index-pointer shall stand at thebeginning of the scale, which is impressed or printed upon the dialthereof, the subscqucnt running down or expansion of the spring causingthe pointer to traverse the scale, as hcrcinal'tcr explained.

In the drawings bct'orc alluded to as accompanying this specification,and which illustrate my inventionadenotes the main bed or face-plate ofa watch, and b, thc stop-works platc, thc barrcl hcing shown at c, itsarbor at (I, and main-spring at 1', such constituent parts being formcdand arranged in manner similar to like parts inothcr waichcs ot' theclass.

As my invention is conlincdto such parts, and has no local rcfcrcncc toothcr portions ol' the watch, i'urther refcrcncc to its generalorganization is not con-' sidercd pertinent to this specification.

In carrying out my ohjcct, I bore a hole, f, axially through thc arbor(I, and within the bore I insert loosely a rod, 1 provided with a head,71, corresponding in size and form .with that of tho arbor against whichit -abuts, the two heads lin'ining in union the winding-portion of sucharbor.

The smallcr extremity of the rod y, at-its point of protrusion from thoarbor and plate, has allixed to it a pawl, i, the. parts bring soarranged, that although 'at other times independent oi the arbor, uponapplication and turning of thc kcy, the pawl and its rod shallbe forcedto travcl with such arbor, since the rotation of the key, in winding thearbor, must also wind the rod, as it covers the heads of both;

Such pawl i meshes into the teeth j-j, &c., of a toothed wheel, 1:, thelatter being mounted upon a short post or stud, l, which is attixerl atits base to the platc a, and projecting outwardly through the dial in ofthe watch, where it is furnished with a hand or indcx-pointcr, n, acircle of divisions or index-scale, 0, being described concentricallyaboutsuch post and upon the face of the dial.

A spring-stop, p, is aflixed .to theplate a, and alongside of the wheel1:, and taking into its interstices, to prevent slipping and irrcgularrot-atipn of the latter,

and to insure proper presentation ot'"its teeth to thc action of thepawl. \Vithin a circular and concentric channel, q, cut

within that face of the barrel-head next adjacent to elling in acircular path of movcmcnt, in union with the barrel, will causeintcrmittciit rotary movements of the wheel, a shortsegmcntal aperture,3, being cut through the plate a, to allow access to thewhecl or thespring-catch, such catch, at other times, being depressed by impingingagainst the boundary of the aperture. Y v

The above description embraces the mechanical construction andarrangement of parts constituting my invention, and will. enablewatolnnakers or rcpaircrs of average acquiremcnts to construct and applythem.

Upon applying the kcy, to wind the watch, care should be taken that itcovers both the head of the rod and of thc arbor;

The mechanism is so arranged, that although indcpcndcnt ot' the arbor,the action of the'kcy, in winding the latter, shall otnccessityprodnccacorrespond-- ing rcrolutioi'i of the rod and its pawl, withresulting. intermittcutpartial rotations of the wheel and indexpoint-eror hand, the teeth of the wheel being gradnatcd to the length and powerof the spring, since the functions of the-two should be so calculatedand adjusted, that upon completion of the winding up of the spring, thepawl shall havc effected ncarly, but not quite a revolutionoftheiinlcx-pointor, which, at this time, should stand at the zero orstarting-point of the divisional-y scale.

Upon removing the key, the pawl, bcforc forced by it to travel with thearbor, has no further action, and

permits the barrel to tiavelwithout actuating it.

A. relaxation of the spring, during the twenty-f0nr hours, or therunning-time ot' the watch, will, as a matter of coursc, under thelast-mentioned condition of parts, producc a retrograde movement of thebarrel, and, by means of its spring-catch r and toothed wheel 70, causea partial rotation of the index-pointer, or oneof sufficient extent tocause it to stand at or about at the end of its scale.

An inspection of the index-pointer will at once enable the observer todetermine whether the watch is wound or not. e

1 am aware that an index-pointer has heretofore been applied, for asimilar purpose to mine, directly to the arbor of awatch, in which afusee and chain are employed, in which case the; arbor travels.

The application'of a device to effect this purpose, in a. watchcontaining a. going-barrel, necessitated a compact and delicate, thoughnot complicated mechanism, such 'as is hereinbefore explained.

Having thus described the nature, as well as the purposes and advantageof my invention,

What I believe to .hc novcl and original with myself, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

Claim.

I claim, as a means of determining'the' degree of tension of themain-spring of a time-piece, the organization and arrangement of thetubular arbor and the rod g, the pawl 2', the toothed wheel 7:,spring-catch 1-,

or its equivalent, and the index-pointer and scale, the

